Another gritty day

I was hoping for a better day today, but it didn't work out like that. It was the same story all over again, this same application causing me to question my sanity even further. I was faced with a situation where I was being shown something that just didn't make sense. I could apply no reasoning to explain it at all. In the end, with some much needed help, I was given a perspective on the logic behind the weird behaviour I was witnessing. It was all about assumptions. And I'm becoming increasingly aware of how often it is that I assume something which seems perfectly reasonable (to me), only for it to be proved invalid, and thereby rendering whole chains of thought invalid at the same time. It's worrying that I can be so at odds with the world, but I think today was a case where the designers made their own assumptions - and it is those which are invalid rather than mine. Writing this now, with a bit of space, I can understand most of the weird behaviour of the last few days, but I contend that my assumptions about behaviour were reasonable enough, particularly since they were based on how the previous version of this application worked. I think I was right in my expectations. I feel like I shouldn't have to get my head into other people's assumptions. If it was a one off it could be excusable, but all Microsoft software seems to be like this. The interfaces are always clumsy and counter-intuitive. They are an easy target, I know, but it's hard not to believe that they don't make that extra bit of effort simply because they don't have to. And it makes me thoroughly fed up when it ruins my day.

There was an Earlybirds meet in town tonight for a drink. I wasn't feeling very sociable but I made the effort to go and I had a great evening. I think I really needed a few beers. With Cacophony laid up with his broken wrist and with Gizzajob and Harry Quinn having both completed the Etape du Tour, in what sounded like horrible conditions, things have been a little quiet of late so it was good to catch up with everybody's news.